These Immigrants Are Responsible For Up To 76 Per Cent Of The Demand For Housing In The City

Category: Finance.

Housing affordability has economic and social factors that set limits in the real estate industry. One of the most important trend is the purchase of property for later resale, called investment buying.

There are some trends that sustain this situation and the odds are not good regarding the years to follow. This is usually done by people who already own or who are buying a home. Old industrial properties in the inner and middle- distance suburban ring have been turned into residential areas, thus boosting the market. In Sydney for example, the investment buying that has sustained the market for the past years is now showing signs of weakening. The only problem is that even these old industrial sites are getting fewer and fewer. St. Developers are now trying to buy the airspace over railway stations.

Leonard s railway station, on the lower North Shore, has already been built over. Developers are aiming to rebuild them as multi- level apartments and retail developments housing hundreds of people. Hurstville and Kogarah Stations are next, as they are already built over with modest, one- level shopping facilities. Housing affordability has another strong enemy in the fact that almost one- third of the workforce now puts in less than 40 hours a week. Casual work reduces security of employment to a day- to- day timeline. Casual hours may suit some of the people, but many casual workers would prefer to go fulltime and have greater employment security.

Investment in longer- term plans is risky without a certainty regarding cash flow. The immigration from overseas is also influencing housing affordability in Sydney, as it adds 50, 000 people a year to the population living there. This is why these casual workers cannot enter the housing market, even if property information is something they always keep an eye on. These immigrants are responsible for up to 76 per cent of the demand for housing in the city. A solution for the housing affordability concern would be the reduction of the immigration, but which party would be willing to answer to racism allegations from the people, if it dared to make changes in the immigration policy? A research done by Monash University s Centre for Population and Urban Research has also stated that immigration is a major factor in the city s housing problem. Which party would risk spoiling the relationships with the ethnic groups?

The answer is none.